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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBusiness Week - "Ted Cruz Could Force a Debt Default All by Himself"
The fact that Ted Cruz will not do this will just underscore the fact that Ted Cruz is just full of hot air. He is willing to let House Republicans take the fall, but the fact of the matter is that he is a wuss who can't handle the heat himself.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-14/ted-cruz-could-force-a-debt-default-all-by-himself
Heres a cheerful thought as Congress remains deadlocked over the debt ceiling and the hours tick away toward default: Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who basically forced the shutdown and whose own private polls have convinced him that it has been a glorious success, at this point could probably force a default and global economic calamity on his ownif he were so inclined. The Treasury Department says U.S. borrowing authority will expire on Thursday.
How could this happen? Because the Senate can move quickly when necessary, but only by unanimous consent. Lets say Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) strike a deal today (thats looking unlikely). Cruz surely wont like it and has said repeatedly, I will do everything necessary and anything possible to defund Obamacare. If hes true to his word, he could drag out the proceedings past Thursday and possibly well beyond. If a determined band of nut jobs wants to take down the global economy, they could do it, says Jim Manley, a former top staffer for Reid. Under Senate rules, we are past the point of no returntheres not anything Reid or McConnell could do about it.
If Cruz is truly determined to block or delay any deal that does not touch Obamacare, heres how hed do it: The hypothetical Reid/McConnell bill would probably be introduced as an amendment to the clean debt-ceiling raise that Democrats introducedand Republicans defeatedlast week. Reid voted against cloture on the motion to proceed to that bill, a procedural tactic that allows him to reconsider the bill later on. Lets say he does so by 5 p.m. Monday. There would need to be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed. Cruz would dissent, but he wouldnt be able to round up 41 votes for a filibuster.
That wouldnt be his only weapon, however. The real killer is that Senate rules stipulate there must be 30 hours of post-cloture debate, unless senators agree unanimously to waive it. Reid and McConnell would want unanimous consent to move quickly, but Cruz could refuse, thereby forcing 30 hours of debate. This would drag things out until Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. Then there would be a vote on the motion to proceed (requiring a simple majority), followed by an intervening day, assuming Cruz withheld his consent to vote earlier. So now were looking at a Thursday cloture vote on the bill itself, followed by another 30 hours of post-cloture debate that would blow right past the Treasury deadline. Finally, sometime on Friday, there would be a vote on the bill and on the amendment to swap in Reid/McConnell.
How could this happen? Because the Senate can move quickly when necessary, but only by unanimous consent. Lets say Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) strike a deal today (thats looking unlikely). Cruz surely wont like it and has said repeatedly, I will do everything necessary and anything possible to defund Obamacare. If hes true to his word, he could drag out the proceedings past Thursday and possibly well beyond. If a determined band of nut jobs wants to take down the global economy, they could do it, says Jim Manley, a former top staffer for Reid. Under Senate rules, we are past the point of no returntheres not anything Reid or McConnell could do about it.
If Cruz is truly determined to block or delay any deal that does not touch Obamacare, heres how hed do it: The hypothetical Reid/McConnell bill would probably be introduced as an amendment to the clean debt-ceiling raise that Democrats introducedand Republicans defeatedlast week. Reid voted against cloture on the motion to proceed to that bill, a procedural tactic that allows him to reconsider the bill later on. Lets say he does so by 5 p.m. Monday. There would need to be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed. Cruz would dissent, but he wouldnt be able to round up 41 votes for a filibuster.
That wouldnt be his only weapon, however. The real killer is that Senate rules stipulate there must be 30 hours of post-cloture debate, unless senators agree unanimously to waive it. Reid and McConnell would want unanimous consent to move quickly, but Cruz could refuse, thereby forcing 30 hours of debate. This would drag things out until Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. Then there would be a vote on the motion to proceed (requiring a simple majority), followed by an intervening day, assuming Cruz withheld his consent to vote earlier. So now were looking at a Thursday cloture vote on the bill itself, followed by another 30 hours of post-cloture debate that would blow right past the Treasury deadline. Finally, sometime on Friday, there would be a vote on the bill and on the amendment to swap in Reid/McConnell.
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Business Week - "Ted Cruz Could Force a Debt Default All by Himself" (Original Post)
TomCADem
Oct 2013
OP
Turbineguy
(37,361 posts)1. Congratulations to those who elected him.
They got the reincarnation of Jim Jones.
doc03
(35,362 posts)2. The Republicans changed the rules in the House making that asswipe Canter dictator, why in the hell
haven't we fixed the damn filibuster?
TomCADem
(17,390 posts)3. Well, it will be interesting to see Cruz try to singlehandedly push the Nation into default
...then try to run for President as a reward for his efforts.